IF 62 police officers were injured during 24 hours of rioting in most UK cities, it would lead every news bulletin in the land.

But Belfast is a unique case – one where people seem to accept that old divisions will inevitably mean the odd bit of indiscriminate violence.

The truth is that this week’s scenes of carnage bear no resemblance to day-to-day reality for the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland.

And hearteningly, the latest trouble has seen both Protestants and Catholics rally around the police. That is something that has noticeably changed for the better since the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement.

The creation of the new Police Service of Northern Ireland, with their major efforts to recruit more Catholics, is clearly bearing fruit.

That spirit of co-operation and togetherness – and outright rejection of violence – is the future of Northern Ireland.

It is what will allow the country to take its rightful place as a a forward- thinking European nation.

A few hundred brainless hooligans with some rocks and petrol won’t be allowed to ruin it for everyone else.